Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman   Specialization and Research Interests    Human Space Flight Operations, Space Flight Technology, Human-Machine Interactions, Extravehicular Activity, Conducting Laboratory Research in Space   Teaching Interests    Space Systems Design, Space Policy   Positions Held at MIT   Research Staff, Center for Space Research, 1975-1978; Senior Lecturer, 2001-2002; Professor of the Practice, 2002-present   Positions Held Outside MIT    NASA Astronaut, 1978-1997, Five Flights; NASA European Representative, 1997-2001   Society Memberships   International Academy of Astronautics, Spanish Academy of Engineering, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi      Comments   Professor Hoffman is interested in the future of human spaceflight and in the use of the International Space Station as a testbed for future aerospace technology. Away from MIT, he enjoys skiing, sailing, hiking, bicycling, skating, and music.    Space Flight Experience   Dr. Hoffman made his first space flight as a mission specialist on STS 51-D, April 12-19, 1985, on the Shuttle Discovery. On this mission, he made the first STS contingency space walk, in an attempted rescue of a malfunctioning satellite.   Dr. Hoffman made his second space flight as a mission specialist on STS-35, December 2-10, 1990, on the Shuttle Columbia. This Spacelab mission featured the ASTRO-1 ultraviolet astronomy laboratory, a project on which Dr. Hoffman had worked since 1982.   Dr. Hoffman made his third space flight as payload commander and mission specialist on STS-46, July 31-August 8, 1992, on the Shuttle Atlantis. On this mission, the crew deployed the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), an ESA-sponsored free-flying science platform, and carried out the first test flight of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS), a joint project between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Dr. Hoffman had worked on the Tethered Satellite project since 1987.   Dr. Hoffman made his fourth flight as an EVA crewmember on STS-61, December 2-13, 1993, on the Shuttle Endeavour. During this flight, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was captured, serviced, and restored to full capacity through a record five space walks by four astronauts.   Dr. Hoffman last flew on STS-75 (February 22 to March 9, 1996) on the Shuttle Columbia. This was a 16-day mission whose principal payloads were the reflight of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) and the third flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-3). The TSS successfully demonstrated the ability of tethers to produce electricity. The TSS experiment produced a wealth of new information on the electrodynamics of tethers and plasma physics before the tether broke at 19.7 km, just shy of the 20.7 km goal. The crew also worked around the clock performing combustion experiments and research related to USMP-3 microgravity investigations. During this mission, Dr. Hoffman became the first astronaut to log 1000 hours aboard the Space Shuttle.   With the completion of his fifth space flight, Dr. Hoffman has logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space.   Education   B.A., 1966, Amherst College Ph.D., 1971, Harvard University   Close window